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But will Valkanis back Cahill to deliver against against the league leaders - just as he did in their FFA Cup final win back in November - by starting him?

Valkanis was playful on the matter.

"It is a big game and Timmy is a big game player," Valkanis said.

"He's in the squad. He's involved and I'm sure he'll play.

"He's not necessarily just used as an impact player. There will be games - maybe tomorrow - where he'll be used from the start.

"We go by performance and training and what the game will require on a game-by-game situation."

City boast a five-game unbeaten streak over the Sky Blues and can look back on their Cup win.

However, Valkanis said to do so would be folly, arguing their loss to Western Sydney last week would only strengthen their resolve.

"They are a very good team. They're not vulnerable," he said.

"They've got a very good coach in Graham Arnold ... they're the best team in Australia at the moment and the fact they've lost one game doesn't mean anything.

"We can't dwell in the past in winning a Cup final. That was a long time ago. It was great winning that final but we've moved on from that now."

Valkanis said he was content to play the long game with Jakobsen, given the calf has forced him out of games through the season.

"We were hoping he could be back this week. We've got to be careful with him knowing we're in the final straight with seven games to go we need to do our due diligence with him and get him 100 per cent," he said.

STATS THAT MATTER

* Sydney FC haven't won at AAMI Park in all competitions since November 2014.

* City are unbeaten in five matches over Graham Arnold's side but haven't won back-to-back matches since the opening two rounds of the season.

* Four times Tim Cahill has scored with his head this season - two more than any other player.